Tuesday, September 21, 2010

There's a few bugs I'm seeing around here that I didn't see in Alaska. Click an image to view full.

This praying mantis was just hanging out on the balcony railing outside. It was about 3.5 inches long.It let me get my camera lens right in its face. The last creature to allow that was a deer.
I admit, after I had taken enough photos of the mantis I started to poke and prod it instead of just leaving it be. I thought it would be cool to get it on my hand so you could see the scale of it. I'm sure for some of you a praying mantis is a common sight. But for me this was about the biggest bug I'd ever seen. I started to grab it and it turned to grab me. I freaked out and threw the thing, and it flew away.

Then there's these little red bugs. I found one inside the house the other day. They are Box Elder nymphs (Boisea trivittata). I think it's just coincidence that Boise is part of the bug's species name.
They seem to come in numbers. They were literally everywhere on this fence and the ground near it.
And then there's this spider. Hanging out with lunch in its mouth. I noticed some kids from across the street looking at something on a reserved parking sign in our yard. The kids scattered when they saw me. Evidently I'm scarier than the spider.
After Googling it, I think it's a Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax). That's right: jumping spider. It can jump 50 times its own body length. Oh, and it can bite. Lucky for me (and the kids) I think it was content to just sit there with its meal. I learned my lesson from the praying mantis, and just let the spider be.